


burn your upbringin'

by Voidromeda



Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Love/Hate, M/M, Strangulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:55:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voidromeda/pseuds/Voidromeda
Summary: They have no choice but to come back to each other every day, every night, and nothing Cain does lessens the anger that burns bright in Abel's pretty little eyes.





	burn your upbringin'

They come back to each other.

Well, it is unavoidable – they are partners, a duo, sticking to each other for the sake of a war neither of them know that well. They are, for better or for worse, together until the bitter end – or until one of them cracks and demands separation. One can almost clap in appreciation for Abel’s tenacity. He stays next to Cain even when he sees anger and hatred flash in those eyes – a low simmer that threatens to turn into full-blown fire, an open flame next to slowly dripping gasoline, and Cain wants to push and push just to see Abel break. He wants to see if he will be like every other Navigator before him, if he will run far, far away from him and demand Keeler to change Cain out for a ‘nicer’ Fighter.

They lay next to each other and Cain has to force him into his arms, fights with Abel for something as simple as _fucking cuddling,_ and he can’t tell if he respects his dog headedness or wants to grab a gun and put a bullet in between those pretty eyes. They always flash with defiance, something so out of place on his pretty-boy face that he laughs whenever he sees it. It doesn’t help lessen the rage in this tiny little thing that thinks he is bigger than the world, but he doesn’t do anything to tamp it down. There are no fire extinguishers here, no one has the forethought for it, and it isn’t like the Navigators have spines to start a fire. They are all cowards, every last one of them hiding behind a Fighter, and none of them able to take care of themselves.

The thought completely crumbles away when Abel throws a punch and hits – _hard._ He doesn’t know what sparks the anger and only remembers saying something about him – his family, Abel himself, he doesn’t know – and then there is a fist connecting to his chin and Cain is almost biting his tongue off. Abel’s eyes are wide and his teeth grit together, his face bright red with anger, and Cain can only stare at him, stunned, from the punch. The silence drags on, both of them breathing so damn loudly in their claustrophobic room, and Abel is the one who breaks eye contact.

His hands ball into fists by his sides, his glare burning holes into the dull, grey wall to his right, and then he is murmuring something under his breath. He grabs Cain’s black jacket and slides it on, the jacket a bit big on his slimmer frame, and then goes and grabs his fucking cigarette carton. He stomps out of his room, then breaks out into a sprint when Cain gets himself together and tries to rush after him.

He doesn’t know how it is that Abel can run that damn fast, but he loses sight of him and has to go back to his room before Encke catches him. He fires off swear after swear in Russian while marching back to their bunk, and he can’t sleep when he lays back down onto their makeshift ‘futon’. Abel comes back some time later, smelling like electric smoke and rusty iron, and he curls next to and away from Cain. He doesn’t fight when Cain turns around and spoons his back, but he is as stiff as a corpse in his arms and he holds back the urge to bite down on Abel’s neck. The ache in his jaw is terrible the next day, but he manages through it and makes sure to punish Abel for it that coming night.

Their relationship goes from tense to _fucking strained_ from then on, however. Abel is always wound up tight and he walks with a hollow smile on his face while his eyes are burning. His words are fake, uncaring, and he sparks a verbal sparring with Phobos that results in Abel being snide (“the only thing you have to yourself besides your _terrible_ coding skills and your whining and nagging is fucking fashion – shame you had to run away from home because you’re a failure to your parents because of it.”) and the former stomping out of the mess deck. He stares at Abel and gets a glare in return, the breaking of eye contact, and the cold shoulder when he walks over to sit at his table. When he asks to try out Abel’s food for today, he grabs his bowl and drops it in the trash with the many others and leaves. Cain tries not to chase after him to snap his neck.

They fuck that night, but it is with Abel clawing at him, shoving him down, trying to assert _something_ in bed, and Cain follows it up with a punch to his stomach to keep him docile. The only thing it does is serve to make Abel spit all over the floor and then claw at his face with his long fucking nails. Everyone notices the marks on his face the next day but no one asks, knowing better than to. The only exception is Encke, who looks at him and snorts, says “of course,” then leaves to do whatever the fuck it is he has to do.

Abel stares at him blankly when they run into each other in the cafeteria, and Cain waits for it – for the shift in his expression, the glimmer in his eyes, the upwards quirk of his lips, the flash of his teeth. Abel’s expression is unchanging, unflinching. He stares, and stares, and stares at the marks then turns to talk animatedly to Ethos, his face brightening up like the sun Cain never gets to see back on Mars. He stabs his food with his fork and ignores Deimos’ dull gaze.

He punches Abel that night, and they break out into a fistfight – an actual fucking fistfight, where Abel clearly knows his way around a rough brawl, pushing back against Cain even when he is smaller, sleeker, slimmer. He grabs his Swiss army knife with none of the tools out and slams it against Cain’s side, makes him grunt and sway from the discomfort, and then he pounces onto him. His hands wrap around his throat, slams him down onto their bed, and Abel is snarling down at him.

His hair is a mess around him, the gel unable to keep it together and his eyes are wide and full of _anger,_ passion, _life._ The scar on his lips stands out thanks to the way his hair curtains his face, makes him look like an angel in the process of falling, and Cain can’t help but try to grin even as the other squeezes his grip around his throat.

They stay like that – not for long before something snaps back to Abel and horror overtakes his face. He shoves Cain away and frantically kicks himself away, crawls backward on his palms until his back bumps against the wall, and he breathes heavily. Cain coughs – of course he does, he is practically choking as he fights to get oxygen back into his lungs, and Abel presses his hands against his mouth to stifle his sobs.

“What happened, huh?” Cain says hoarsely, “what happened to all that fuckin’ bravado then, huh? Flame got too fuckin’ hot for you?” Abel closes his teary eyes and shakes his head. Cain sneers at him as he pushes himself up into a sitting position and he rubs at his throat after. He cackles. “Yeah? You strangle someone and you fuckin’ piss yourself? Fuck. Fuckin’ navigators and their fuckin’ upbringin’. Shit.”

They don’t curl into each other that night. If anything, Abel tries to lay as far away from him as possible and Cain doesn’t stop him. Sleep comes easily to him that night, and he dreams of Abel riding him while he strangles Cain to death. He wakes up with a gasp and morning wood, turns to see Abel already gone and his jacket missing again but his cigarettes still there, and he laughs.

He lights a cigarette and smokes in the lonely, claustrophobic cell and waits for his day to officially begin. Just another day.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Pillowfort. ](https://www.pillowfort.social/transistor) | [ Tumblr. ](https://transistories.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/EmptyHeartLover)
> 
> If you're interested in finding me, I am in those links up above.
> 
> I'll post my author's notes on Pillowfort later.


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